Library / English Dictionary

TENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)

Example:

he pitched his tent near the creek

Synonyms:

collapsible shelter; tent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tent" is a kind of...):

shelter (a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger)

Meronyms (parts of "tent"):

guy; guy cable; guy rope; guy wire (a cable, wire, or rope that is used to brace something (especially a tent))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tent"):

umbrella tent (a small tent with a single supporting pole and radiating metal ribs)

two-man tent (a tent designed for occupancy by two persons)

sealskin tent; tupek; tupik (tent that is an Eskimo summer dwelling)

teepee; tepee; tipi (a Native American tent; usually of conical shape)

pyramidal tent (a large tent shaped like a pyramid; can hold half a dozen people)

pup tent; shelter tent (a wedge-shaped tent; usually without a floor or windows)

praetorium; pretorium (the tent of an ancient Roman general)

pop tent (a small tent that is easy to carry and quick to set up)

marquee; pavilion (large and often sumptuous tent)

mountain tent (a lightweight tent with a floor; flaps close with a zipper)

lean-to tent (tent that is attached to the side of a building)

fly tent (a tent with a fly front)

cottage tent (a tent providing shelter for a family)

canvas; canvas tent; canvass (a tent made of canvas fabric)

cabana (a small tent used as a dressing room beside the sea or a swimming pool)

bell tent (a bell-shaped tent)

backpacking tent; pack tent (a tent that can be carried in a backpack)

Derivation:

tent (live in or as if in a tent)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A web that resembles a tent or carpet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("tent" is a kind of...):

web (an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Live in or as if in a tent

Example:

The houseguests had to camp in the living room

Synonyms:

bivouac; camp; camp out; encamp; tent

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "tent" is one way to...):

dwell; inhabit; live; populate (be an inhabitant of or reside in)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

tent (a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs))

tenting (the act of encamping and living in tents in a camp)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies, and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate, and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was some small satisfaction to me to observe his spare, short-waisted, high-shouldered, mulberry-coloured great-coat perched up, in company with an umbrella like a small tent, on the edge of the back seat on the roof, while Agnes was, of course, inside; but what I underwent in my efforts to be friendly with him, while Agnes looked on, perhaps deserved that little recompense.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

She saw all the glories of the camp—its tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded with the young and the gay, and dazzling with scarlet; and, to complete the view, she saw herself seated beneath a tent, tenderly flirting with at least six officers at once.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Oh, Adele will go to school—I have settled that already; nor do I mean to torment you with the hideous associations and recollections of Thornfield Hall—this accursed place—this tent of Achan—this insolent vault, offering the ghastliness of living death to the light of the open sky—this narrow stone hell, with its one real fiend, worse than a legion of such as we imagine.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I pray you to watch me, and to ride forth when I am come among the tents.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

From the moment he left the tent to when he entered it again, Buck would follow at his heels.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The west countryman had emerged from his dressing-tent, followed by Dutch Sam and Tom Owen, who were acting as his seconds.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But I complained no more and set about making a tent of the sail for Maud.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It was not far to Longmeadow, but the tent was pitched and the wickets down by the time they arrived.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Then we distributed the various burdens among us—guns, ammunition, food, a tent, blankets, and the rest—and, shouldering our packages, we set forth upon the more laborious stage of our journey.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)